A street vendor carting a brown wooden box of lottery tickets strapped to his bicycle is an image synonymous with Thai street trade. For these vendors, however, pinning their hopes for brighter futures on a nearly unwinnable lottery process is a gamble that has serious consequences.
According to the World Bank, the number of people living below the poverty line in Thailand has more than doubled since 1999. The majority of these people live in rural areas, where the lottery is popular and a major source of income. The lottery also offers a way for the poor to get out of debt, and the monetary benefits from winning the lottery can help them to improve their livelihoods.
Lottery is one of only two forms of legal gambling permitted in Thailand, and it is the country’s most popular form of entertainment. The government’s Lottery Office (GLO) reports that it receives more than 19 million ticket purchases a month, and its prize money totals nearly 6 billion baht annually.
In the past, a winning ticket was often seen as a sign of good luck. Often, lottery players would see lucky numbers in their dreams or consult online lottery gurus like Thai Lottery King or My4Website, whose web pages are devoted to cryptic lottery number formulas that they claim will increase their chances of winning the coveted jackpot. Many lottery participants even use negative events as sources of their eventual good fortune, such as car accidents, celebrity deaths, or plane crashes.
Despite its controversial history, the lottery remains a popular activity in Thailand. In fact, it is a main source of income for more than 19 million Thais, or 28.6% of the country’s population. The lottery has also provided a unique opportunity for those with disabilities to earn an income and gain independence. For some disabled people, selling lottery tickets is a more convenient alternative to traditional jobs.
The World Bank estimates that the world’s poorest countries spend a higher proportion of their budget on lottery tickets than richer nations do. This is due to a combination of economic factors and cultural beliefs that encourage lottery participation, such as the belief that winning a jackpot will bring good luck. In some cases, this is true; a lottery winner in Cambodia recently received a US$5 million jackpot, which has helped to alleviate the country’s severe food shortages.
But lottery profits are not always enough to lift poor families out of poverty, and the vast majority of lottery tickets do not win a prize. And for some, the dream of winning a big prize can lead to despair and even suicide. In March of 2015, a man committed suicide in Chiang Mai after the lottery tickets he sold his motorcycle to purchase did not yield a grand prize. Although this is an extreme case, pinning dreams of a better life on such a doomed process is not unreasonable for those who have no other means of improving their lives.
